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Ringing The Great Bell - July 4

Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, once remarked, "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer."

Like other great men of God, he knew that having a strong devotional life was vital to the success of his ministry.

Charles Spurgeon once said, "Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional jerk at the rope. But he who communicates with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously with all his might."

God's Word commands us to "pray without ceasing." We can be in prayer every moment of the day, demonstrating our devotion to God, our thoughts focused on the Lord, and our hearts singing with praise and worship as we go about our daily tasks.

In my devotional life, I have found it meaningful to begin every morning in prayer and end the day in prayer worshiping our Lord.

As I get out of bed each morning, I worship Him saying, "Lord, I bow before you and acknowledge you as my Master."

Throughout the day, I focus my thoughts on the Lord, and praise and worship Him for His goodness. I tell the Lord that I love Him, and I thank Him for living in me. Then, I ask Him to think with my mind, to love with my heart, and to speak with my lips. Since He came to seek and to save the lost, I ask Him to seek and to save the lost through me.

In the evening, I ask, "Lord, is there anything in me that is displeasing to you, anything that I need to confess?"

I then like to spend whatever time is appropriate reading and meditating on God's Word so that my subconscious thoughts are on the Lord Jesus all night long.

I want God's Word to so abide in me that it will always expose my imperfections. As the Holy Spirit reveals my sins and weaknesses, I confess them according to 1 John 1:9 and claim by faith God's victory for my life. That makes prayer and the study of God's Word an exciting adventure for me.

Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,
Bill Bright

The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world's population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, "JESUS," which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books. Visit campuscrusade.com for more details

Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. However, readers may copy and distribute this message as desired, without restrictions in number, as long as the content is not altered. Forwarding this e-mail to friends is encouraged. For many evangelistic and spiritual growth materials, visit the Campus Crusade for Christ Web site at ccci.org. See campuscrusade.com for Bill Bright's own materials.